Learning like the Founding Fathers

What do John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and CollegePrep student, Hannah Jones have in common?

They all began college when they were 16 or under.

Back in the 1700’s, that wasn’t abnormal. Most young men began college around the age of 16. And they had to be fluent in both Greek and Latin in order to even be accepted into college in early America. I don’t know about any of you, but I attempted to learn Latin. Twice. If I time travel back to ancient Rome, I can tell them that the elephant never catches the mouse, but that’s about it. It’s definitely not an easy language. And these 16 year old young men were required to be able to translate the Bible from Latin into English in order to be accepted into Harvard.

These young men were considered adults and ready to begin the rigorous coursework they would find at their chosen school. They had decided upon a vocation and it was time to be on their own and pursue their own lives and callings. Their parents had long since handed over the reins.

What has happened?

A sixteen year old brain is a sixteen year old brain, whether that brain exists in 1752 or 2012. But, expectations have certainly changed. For starters, school years have been extended. Instead of being done with high school at 16 and college at 18-20, most students finish high school at 18 and college at 22. And that’s if you’re one of the lucky ones who actually graduate in 4 years.

But we’re capable of so much more than that.

Let’s go back to Hannah Jones. Hannah started earning college credits with CollegePrep shortly after she turned 15. And in 2012, that is abnormal. She’s still in high school, but she’s hard at work earning college credit, learning to be an adult and taking charge of her life and education.She may be living at home, but when it comes to her college studies, her mom, Stacey, put it this way: “She is accountable to her accountability mentor and responsible for any communication between the two of them. Besides encouraging her, giving her study tips, and taking advantage of teachable opportunities like maintaining a good attitude and going the extra mile, it's been a hands-off experience for me and her dad. This is the closest thing to adulthood, and it has benefitted Hannah.”That’s part of what CollegePrep is about. Ignoring conventional age stereotypes and realizing that students are capable of so much more than they are given credit for in our day and age and giving those students the tools they need to leverage their God-given ability.And that’s what the leaders of tomorrow are about. Ignoring conventional stereotypes and recognizing they are capable of so much more than what their peers are currently settling for. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe were all leaders in their day. They could have maintained the status quo and followed the conventional wisdom of not rocking the boat. But they didn’t and participated in the founding of a new nation unlike any other the world had ever seen. And then went on to be presidents of that nation.

What change is going to happen if you decide to ignore conventional stereotypes? Leave a comment below!

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